


Monsters Incorporated

by atmidnite



Category: Scooby Doo - All Media Types, Scooby Doo! Mystery Incorporated (Cartoon 2010)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Supernatural Elements, Best Friends, F/M, Friends to Lovers, High School, Mystery, Scooby Doo References, Strangers to Lovers, Supernatural Elements, Vampires, scooby is only mentioned like twice im sorry, um the moon is mentioned a lot, yeah cant foget about the mystery
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-24
Updated: 2020-08-29
Packaged: 2021-03-04 23:41:01
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 18,550
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25494775
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/atmidnite/pseuds/atmidnite
Summary: Daphne, Shaggy, and Velma move to Crystal Cove during the last week of summer expecting it to be like any other town. What they get is anything but.
Relationships: Daphne Blake/Fred Jones
Comments: 5
Kudos: 12





	1. The Most Haunted Place on Earth

_**Part 1: Welcome to Crystal Cove** _

‘Welcome to Crystal Cove’ the large sign read in raised purple letters. Daphne had to squint to read the subtext: ‘The most haunted place on earth’ She rolled her eyes. What about this town could possibly be so haunted? From what she could see, the town looked to be more boring than anything else. Standard suburbs, banks, and shops here and there, nothing too special. The antithesis of the commotion of New York; it was quiet, still, peaceful, so much so that it bored her. She resented the blow of the wind that messed up her hair and the sweltering heat on her skin. This was not going to be fun.

Velma heaved as she carried what seemed to be the millionth box into the house. There was a reason she was in the math club and not a bodybuilder.

“You know Velma, maybe if you weren’t wearing that hoodie this would be a little easier on you,” Her dad called out from behind her. She glanced down at her signature orange sweater. It had nothing to do with this.

“Maybe if we didn’t move during the hottest time of year this would be a little easier on me,” She set down the box with a groan.

“Velma be nice,” Her mom said, setting down the last of the boxes.

“Honey could you go make sure the van’s locked up? Your dad and I will start unpacking down here and you can take your stuff to your room,” She handed Velma the keys, not really offering her much of a choice.

She walked outside. Crystal Cove, huh? She couldn’t lie, she loved the feel of small towns. Something about Hershingsburg always felt out of reach. Like she could never really grasp the feel of the people, or see everything the town had to offer. But now, looking at Crystal Cove, it felt like the world was her oyster.

After she ensured the van was empty and locked it up, something caught her eye. Perhaps the ugliest green she had ever seen, on top of some brown pants. The outfit was an eyesore to say the least. And this was coming from a girl that wore an orange sweater everyday. Not to mention the boy was _thin_. Thin in a way that only scrawny teenage boys could be.

Still, something about him made it impossible for her to actually dislike him. Despite his questionable fashion taste and slightly overgrown hair, he seemed nice. Helping his case was the large brown Great Dane that walked next to him. If she didn’t know any better, she would say he was talking to it.

Before she could get a closer look, a convertible came driving by. She could swear it was pink, but at this point she couldn’t believe anything. The only thing she could really be sure of was the gorgeous woman driving. She could only make out the high cheekbones, bone straight hair, and the smoothest brown skin Velma had ever seen. Next to her was presumably her daughter, a spitting image except for the softness of her features and the large cloud of hair behind her.

Velma blinked and they were gone. She looked to her left and so were the boy and his dog. She needed to get inside now, for at this point she was sure she was seeing things.

 _Daphne you need to do something with your hair_. Her mother’s words echoed in her head as she sat in front of her vanity braiding her hair back. In a lot of ways, it didn’t even feel like they had moved.

Weeks ago, her mother came out to Crystal Cove from their apartment to make sure everything was going, “swimmingly.” In that time she decorated the house perfectly to her liking, so when they got here, everything had been already set up. Which is why she sat in front of the exact same vanity, with every exact piece of furniture she’d had before. Her dad was still sparse, the same way things had been back in New York. For someone who wanted a fresh start, her mother sure did like keeping things the same.

It must run in the family, she thought as she went down the stairs. The familiar furniture comforted her, and for a moment she could pretend that everything was the way it used to be, the way things were meant to be.

She opened the fridge, finding it filled with red pouches. It was specially equipped to support their strictly _liquid_ diet. Daphne grabbed one and took it out to the backyard where she just stood and took in the scenery. She tried to relax, to focus on anything but her distaste for her situation. She was lucky that she could even be outside like this, thanks to her darker complexion. See, things weren’t all bad. Sooner or later, she’d have to accept that life would go whether she liked it or not.


	2. Fright Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A mysterious calling leads the gang to a strange new location on their first night in town.

Fred loved to run. He liked to pretend he was running from the world. His dad, his responsibilities, from Crystal Cove itself, even the good stuff in it; as if all of it had never mattered. In more ways than he’d like to admit, he felt like plenty parts of his life didn’t matter. Running made him forget all of that. It was freeing to say the least.  
Fred ran the same route every evening. He started at his house on the outside of the city, ran the perimeter, and then cut back through the suburbs. What he saw everyday hardly differed. Businessman coming home from work, the occasional dog walker, and the group of old ladies he always waved to on their stroll. The sameness of it all soothed him.  
This evening, however, he saw something a little odd. A stout woman and her slightly taller husband coming out of a house he swore was empty. He couldn’t see anything but their matching orange sweaters, but he was sure he hadn’t seen them before.   
He also couldn’t help but notice that the house next to it, which was also empty, had a tall blonde woman coming out of it. Apparently Crystal Cove had some new residents.

For the first time in her life, Daphne saw her reflection. Or something that looked a lot like her reflection. There was something intelligible wrong with it, like she knew it was fake. It tracked too slow and didn’t quite match her features. Like an amateur's portrait, the pieces were there but just not quite right. She felt her brows furrow as she sat down at her vanity, looking at her almost reflection.  
It’s eyes were closed. She waved her hand, but it didn’t match her movements. It sat there as if it were sleeping sitting up. The more she stared at it, she realized just how clear the mirror was. Not a single spec of dust or lint adorned the surface. Looking at it seemed to put her in a trance. Somehow the glass looked inviting. She leaned forward with her hand outstretched.   
Her fingers were almost at the surface when its eyes snapped open. She instantly jumped back. Its eyes were a dull gray. She stared into them and time slowed to a stop. Her body went completely still. She sat there unmoving for only a minute.   
She blinked and it was gone. Any confusion or fear she’d felt before was replaced with a desire to go. Go, go, go was the only thing on her mind as she rushed to get out of the house. Where, she didn’t know, but she followed wherever her feet took her.

The books were the last thing Velma had to unpack. She knew it was getting late but she’d thank herself later. It didn’t take long for her to get to the last couple books.   
She looked down at the last book in the box. The mere sight of it made her smile. She took it in her hands and examined it. It was a book that’d been passed down through her family for generations, beginning with her great great grandma that wrote it. The white book appeared pristine and angelic. Velma couldn’t wait to read it again.  
Before she could put the book on the shelf, her eyes caught on the design in the center. In the middle of it was an eye with stars extending out from it. Her eyes focused in on the design. The room got quieter and quieter the more she looked at it. The room was silent before, maybe. She couldn’t remember anything other than the eye. The eye. She blinked and shook her head. She put the book on her desk instead of on the shelf and made her way out the door.

Shaggy was almost asleep when he heard it.  
“Shaggy,” someone whispered in the darkness.  
He assumed it was Scooby, so he sat up and looked over at the dog. He was fast asleep. That was weird, he thought. He assumed that he’d imagined it and settled back into bed.  
“You didn’t imagine it,” He sat straight up, frantically looking around his room.  
“Over here,” It said from behind him. He slowly turned around, clutching his sheets in his hands as he did so.   
There was nothing behind him other than his window. Even though his blinds were closed, he could see the moon’s light shining through. He pulled up the blinds and instantly felt the moon’s power flow through his veins. It was almost a full moon, and even if he couldn’t see it, he could feel it.  
He stared directly at it and felt the buzz in his veins come to a jarring stop. A moment later it resumed and he opened the window, taking off into the night.

A baby lie there wailing. It was nestled just deep enough in the cove that the waves didn’t reach it. The cove wasn’t very big. The sound of it’s cries echoed deafeningly loud. Something reached out of the darkness and pulled the baby out sight.   
The crying echoed in Fred’s head as he woke up. He was sweating all over. He maneuvered out from under the covers and tried to catch his breath. They came shallow, quick, and unstable. All he could think about was the baby. At this point he couldn’t even tell whether it was a dream or some sort of vision. Either way, he had to at least go check.

The cool breeze of the summer night mingled with the sea mist. Waves rolled in gentle cycles. Fred was the last one to arrive. He was surprised to see not only other people in the cave, but no baby in sight. Before he could even ask about it, the air went frigid against his skin.  
“Something has been stolen from us,” A shrill voice in the darkness.  
Fred tried to find the source of the voice, but all he could see were the half lit faces of the strangers with him.  
“Um excuse me, I haven’t taken anything, I just moved here today,” One of the strangers, a girl, said.  
“Yeah me too,” The others said in unison.   
“You may not have taken it, but you are the only ones that can return it,”  
All of them sat in silence for a moment.  
“Well what was stolen?” The other girl said.  
“A key. It is known as the Clairvoyant Key. It holds a power unknown to any mortal,” Fred could hear the voice moving around the cave.   
“Where, like, is it?” The other boy asked, his voice skating.  
“Here in Crystal Cove in the hands of someone it should not be. That is all I can tell you. It is your job to find it before September 23rd, or the sacrificed soul will be lost forever,”  
Fred’s mind instantly flew to the baby.   
“How do you expect-”  
“We’ll do it,” Fred spoke for the first time that night.   
“Good,” The voice dissipated deep into the cave.   
He didn’t exactly know what he just signed them up for, but he was willing to find out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oooo strange voices in caves, how fun!  
> as always, if you'd like to see more of my writing antics, you can follow me on tumblr @atmidnite, thanks for reading!


	3. First Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ah yes, the iconic first day of school.

Fred loved to run. He liked to pretend he was running from the world. His dad, his responsibilities, from Crystal Cove itself, even the good stuff in it; as if all of it had never mattered. In more ways than he’d like to admit, he felt like plenty parts of his life didn’t matter. Running made him forget all of that. It was freeing to say the least.

Fred ran the same route every evening. He started at his house on the outside of the city, ran the perimeter, and then cut back through the suburbs. What he saw everyday hardly differed. Businessman coming home from work, the occasional dog walker, and the group of old ladies he always waved to on their stroll. The sameness of it all soothed him.

This evening, however, he saw something a little odd. A stout woman and her slightly taller husband coming out of a house he swore was empty. He couldn’t see anything but their matching orange sweaters, but he was sure he hadn’t seen them before. 

He also couldn’t help but notice that the house next to it, which was also empty, had a tall blonde woman coming out of it. Apparently Crystal Cove had some new residents. 

~

Any attempt of trying to grow out her nails went down the drain today. In every class period, every walk down the hallway, practically every second, Daphne was messing with her nails. It was barely even a conscious effort, to the point where she didn’t even try to stop it. Along with it came foot tapping, or anything else to keep herself moving. She felt like a big ball of energy, and not the good kind.

The only thing that made her feel slightly better was her outfit. She was wearing a plain white t-shirt, a purple skirt, and Air Forces with gold accessories. One girl in her math class even complimented her. If nothing else, she felt like herself. 

Unlike most teachers, Dr. Shuff didn’t spend the whole class talking about useless things that wouldn’t matter once the class actually started. Instead, he spent approximately 10 minutes introducing himself. The rest was used to ‘test what they know.’ Which is why the class was playing a jeopardy esc game about computer science. Velma was over the moon. Her two loves colliding. There were few nights where she and her family didn’t gather around the tv and watch Jeopardy while they ate dinner. And seeing as this was a computer science class, she had to love it at least a little.

It quickly became apparent that she would dominate the game. With every question she got right, Dr. Shuff became more and more impressed. The boys in the class, however, became more and more peeved. 

See in the movies, the boys would be in awe of her extreme knowledge. They would bow down to her and instantly declare her their all knowing computer science queen. In all actuality, the guys only began to hate her. They started to give her dirty looks, whispering amongst themselves. Velma silently cursed movies for their inaccuracy. 

And of course the only other girl in the class, Marcie, was absent, so Velma was left to fend for herself. 

At the game’s close, she sat there with a smile of pride on her face. She had beat the closest opponent by 2000 points. 

~

Never in his life had Shaggy found it so easy to make friends. Earlier this cute girl had come up to him and asked if he wanted to meet some of her friends. Of course, he agreed. 

“Who’s this?” A guy looked between Shaggy and the girl after they arrived at the lunch table. He sat on the table, surrounded by a bunch of guys and girls dressed similarly to Shaggy; baggy clothes in weird combinations. He figured this guy was their leader of sorts.

“I’m Shaggy, and this is Scooby,” He gestured to Scooby.

“So, Shaggy, how long have you been skating?” The leader says.

“Skating? Since like never,” Shaggy said in confusion. 

“Well how long have you been smoking?” 

Shaggy looked around at them with his eyebrows furrowed. “Um, again, since like never,”

They seemed to be disappointed in his answer. At this point even the cute girl was disappointed with his answer. 

“What?!” She said.

The leader looked from Shaggy to the cute girl. “Really, Violet?” 

“It’s not my fault! Look at him, how was I supposed to know he was normal?” She tried to defend herself. 

The leader looked him up and down. “Yeah true,” His eyes met Shaggy’s. “Just so we’re clear, you’re not a stoner  _ or _ a skater?” 

Shaggy shook his head no. 

The leader smiled, “Well you’ve got the look down. Come find us if you ever wanna become one. For now though, you gotta get lost,”

“Oh,” Was all Shaggy could say. “See you guys around I guess,”

~

Fred didn’t even have to pretend that he was paying attention to the conversation. He stared out of the window with his head in his hands. He’d finished his food a while ago and seemingly so did everyone else because the table became exponentially louder.

Freshman year he would’ve killed to sit at the football table. Now here he was, looking at the field behind the school as if grass was more interesting than what any of them had to say. What changed?

Before he could think anymore, he felt everyone’s eyes on him. He turned to the middle of the table, only to find that everyone was in fact looking at him. “Huh?” He asked.

“I said,” Ian started, being dramatic as usual. “If i’m not careful, Fred’s gonna take my place on the field being that swole,”

Fred smiled, “Yeah watch out,”

“How much are you benching these days?” Fred continued to answer his questions, actually engaging in the conversation since it directly pertained to him.

In all honesty, everyone knew that no one, especially not Fred, would take Ian’s place. He was obviously the best of them all. He dreamed of going to USC and then getting drafted as the number one pick, going straight to the Packers to be the best wide receiver the NFL had ever seen. Fred wasn’t one to ask about other’s dreams, but he had told them all so many times that he couldn’t help but remember. He loved football probably more than he loved his own parents. They all knew that the last thing on Fred’s mind was football.

~

Mrs. Frank wasn’t the only teacher at Crystal Cove High to make a seating chart. She was, however, the only one to make personalized name tags for all of her students. 

Daphne was surprised to see that she had been seated with Fred, Velma, and Shaggy. The names didn’t ring a bell. Not that she was expecting to know them, but she had to at least have some hope. 

When she saw the orange sweater girl, she couldn’t help but smile. “Hi,” Daphne said as she sat down. Velma greeted her back. “Velma? I’m Daphne, obviously,”

Velma smiled, “Nice to actually meet you Daphne,”

When she saw both of the other boys that’d been in the cave walking in, she could’ve cried. She normally loved first days, but admittedly been a little rough. Seeing all of the familiar faces at once tugged at her chest.

“We have gotta stop meeting like this,” Velma said as they sat down, Shaggy across from her and Fred across from Daphne. 

“Yeah you guys were at the beach last night, right?” Shaggy asked. Both girls nodded. 

Fred was suddenly more alert than he’d been all day. When Shaggy mentioned the store, he instantly placed where he’d seen them all before.

Before any of them could say anything else, the teacher was talking.

As much as Daphne tried to be respectful and listen to what the teacher was saying, she could not bring herself to focus. It also didn’t help that Fred was in her field of view in front of the teacher. She studied his face as discreetly as possible. He seemed like your typical All American boy, with the looks to match. He probably played football too. Just looking at his face she felt like she could see his entire life. Girls fawning over him wherever he went, playing football, and not really caring about much else outside of that.

On the other hand, Daphne knew as well as anyone else that stereotypes were just that and she didn’t want to box him in. Maybe Fred was actually a scholar that loved school more than anything else and despised sports with everything in him. She guessed she would have to find out first hand where on that spectrum he fell.

“Today has really not been my day,” Daphne said.

“ _ You _ had a bad day? I got mistaken for a stoner, and then was shunned when they found out I wasn’t one,” Shaggy looked between them, “Do I look like a stoner to you guys?” A beat passed. All four of them burst into laughter. They all knew enough about stoners to know that Shaggy looked like one.

“Don’t laugh, this is serious,” Shaggy said, between laughs himself.

They were supposed to be talking about their favorite historical event. They quickly discovered that other than the creation of the hamburger, none of them had a favorite historical event, so they talked about their days instead. It didn’t take long for things to end in smiles among all of them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tag yourself i'm everyone being mad at shaggy for not being a skater.  
> as always, if you'd like to see more on tumblr @atmidnite, thanks for reading!


	4. Darrow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A dream leads Fred, Velma, and Shaggy to a mysterious old house.

Fred yawned. The next day on his way to sixth period, he couldn’t shake the fatigue that clung to him. 

The bright lights stung his eyes as he walked into the classroom. He blinked a couple times while continuing to his seat. Out of the corner of his eye, a familiar girl in purple caught his eye. 

It was Daphne. He stopped in front of her table. “Hey,”

She looked up, her eyes taking a moment to register who it was. “Oh, hi Fred,”

They both stood there for a moment, not exactly sure what to say.

“Um, I actually have something about the key,”

“Really? Did you find something online or in an old paper?”

“Not exactly, it was more like a dream.”

Her eyebrows raised.

“I wouldn’t call it a dream, um maybe a prophetic vision,” 

“Okay Raven,” 

“Who?”

“Like Raven from- nevermind. What was in this vision of yours?”

His face scrunched up as he tried to remember, “It started with-”

The bell cut him off. 

“You have  _ got _ to be kidding me,” He rolled his eyes

She laughed in response. 

“As I was saying,” Fred started as they walked to history together. “In the dream I was in this big house looking at a book with pictures of people. I felt like I knew them, but I couldn’t make out their faces,” 

“Okay, what else?” Daphne started up the stairs.

“Um that was it,”

Daphne gave him a look.

“I know it’s not much, but I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it all day. I think we’re supposed to go to the house,” 

Both of them smiled at the teacher standing outside of their classroom as they walked in.

“Do you recognize the house?”

“Well it was big, like really big,” 

“What’s big?” Shaggy said, sitting down. 

“Some house that was in Fred’s dream, he thinks it’s connected to the key somehow,” Daphne informed.

“What house?” Shaggy asked.

“Well that’s the problem, he doesn’t know,”

Velma came in and sat down without a word. The last few students came in and settled, only moments before the bell.

“Well was it like a normal house or like something like a mansion or something?”

Mrs. Frank took her place at the front of the classroom. “I know it’s still early but-”

Fred’s eyes widened, “The Darrow Mansion!”

The entire class went silent. Everyone’s eyes were on Fred. Even Mrs. Frank had this weird look on her face. 

Fred looked around the classroom. “Sorry,”

Daphne quietly laughed as red spread across his cheeks.

“So what exactly is the Darrow Mansion?” Velma asked as soon as Mrs.Frank was finished talking.

“Honestly I don’t know much about it other than the fact that it’s abandoned and really old.”

“So you want us to go to a really old abandoned house and look for some book that was in your dream, and all of this is just on a hunch?”

“I know how it sounds, but we have to at least try. We don’t have very much time,” 

Velma sighed. “When do you wanna go?” 

“Tonight?” The look on his face made it obvious that he hadn’t thought this far ahead.

“You want us to go to a creepy abandoned house at  _ night _ ?” Shaggy chimed in.

Fred shrugged, “I mean it’s not like there’s anyone there to stop us,”

The words trespassing and breaking and entering crossed Velma’s mind, but she decided not to say anything.

“What if there’s like spirits or ghosts? They will definitely stop us,”

“We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it?” Again, he said it like it was a question. He looked to Velma for help. She only shrugged. They spent the next couple minutes mapping out their plan for tonight. All the while, Daphne sat there, just watching everything unfold.

“Daphne,” Velma said, turning to the girl at her right.

“Yes?” 

“Are you coming tonight?”

Daphne looked down at her desk, “Um, I’m busy actually. Tell me how it goes though,”

She could feel Velma examining her face, “Okay,”

~

Daphne laid on her bed that night not doing anything. She felt bad for lying, but technically she was busy. Catching up on Parks & Rec was no simple task. 

She sighed, it was nice that she’d made some friends already, but she definitely did not sign up for some treasure hunt. Too much was happening at once for her liking. 

On the other hand, this did seem to be one of those “chosen one” situations. The last things she’d want to do was ruin the other’s chances just because she would rather sit at home and do nothing. Plus it’s just one night, how much could it hurt? 

~

“I swear if I die in here, I will never forgive either of you,” Shaggy said when they’d barely even crossed the threshold of the house. 

“Shaggy, please calm down, it’ll be fine,” Fred said barely above a whisper.

As much as Velma wanted to call Shaggy ridiculous for being so scared, he did have a point. Inside the house was pitch black, except for the faint street lights that came through the window. flooding through the window and their flashlights. They couldn’t see very far and the house was much, much bigger than they were. It smelled of old paper with a hint of rust. Velma silently cursed Fred for suggesting they come at night. 

Velma shone her light around the foyer they were currently in. “You were not lying when you said it was huge,”

“It’s gonna take us like forever to find whatever it is we’re looking for,” Shaggy said. 

“It might not take as long if we split up,” Fred suggested.

“No,” Velma and Shaggy said in unison. 

“Yeah I didn’t really like that idea either,” Fred confessed. “We’ll just go room by room, if we don’t find it today we could always come back another time,”

“I feel like my eyes are about to glaze over,” Velma said as they went into the next room. She couldn’t even keep track of how much of the house they’d been through. 

“Like me too,” Shaggy added.

“Alright, we can leave after we finish in here,” Fred said.

This appeared to be the master bedroom. It had a large window that overlooked the front lawn, and was easily the biggest room on the floor. Fred started by going over to the bedside table, and Shaggy went into the bathroom. Velma checked out the bookshelf by the door.

Her flashlight lit up each of the books, all classics, and she doubted that they had any pictures in them. In the distance she heard a familiar noise. 

“Do you guys hear that?” 

Fred’s head poked out from the side of the bed. Shaggy’s head leaned in from the bathroom.

The creaking turned into footsteps that they all heard. Fred stood up, alarmed. Velma stood paralyzed, not exactly sure what to do. A figure appeared in the door they’d left open. 

Shaggy screamed and Fred fainted. 

Velma moved her flashlight to see the figure. 

“Daphne?” 

“Yeah it’s me,” She winced at the light shining directly in her eyes.

“Oh, sorry,” Velma said, lowering the flashlight. “What are you doing here?”

“I’m here to help, obviously,” 

“Awe Daphne,” Velma said before closing the gap between them with a hug.

Daphne smiled, “ I think I found what you guys are looking for,”

“Really?” Velma’s eyebrows rose.

“Come on, it’s downstairs,” Daphne began to turn around.

“Hold on,” Velma went over to the bathroom to find Shaggy and Scooby clinging to one another for dear life in the bathtub.

“Shaggy,”

“Scoob do you hear that? Velma’s calling to me from beyond the grave,”

“Shaggy I am right here and I am not dead,” 

Shaggy opened one eye. 

“It was just Daphne, nothing scary at all,”

“Hey guys,” Daphne said from behind her with a wave.

“Daphne you almost gave me. like a heart attack,” He stood up and began to get out of the tub. “Seriously not cool man,” Shaggy shot her a look as they left the bathroom together.

“I hope you find it in your heart to forgive me,” Daphne said. 

The three of them went to the other side of the room and found Fred lying on the ground.

“Is he okay?” Daphne asked. 

“I hope so,” Velma said.

“Daphne look at what you did! You killed Fred!” He gestured at Fred’s unmoving body.

Velma softly kicked Fred’s leg. “Fred?” 

His eyes fluttered open. “Velma? You’re not dead?”

“What is up with you two and thinking I’m dead? Get up, we’re going downstairs,”

“So what is it exactly that you found?” Velma asked as they followed Daphne into what seemed to be a study.

“It’s a yearbook, probably from at least 20 or 30 years ago,”

Velma hummed. A desk came into view, and on it sat an open book.

“It was like this when I came in,” Daphne said, moving to the side so the three of them could get a better look at it.

Velma read the headline of the page, ‘Mystery Solvers Club’.

“This is it, this was in my dream,” Fred said.

They stood and inspected the spread. It was filled with people they didn’t recognize.

“Like who are these people?” Shaggy asked.

“Beats me,” Velma replied.

“Well, that’s,” Fred pointed at a blond woman in the middle of the page, “My mom, but I don’t recognize any of the other people,” 

“Really?” Velma turned her attention from the book to Fred, “Has she ever said anything about the key?”

“I don’t know, she disappeared a long time ago,” 

“Sorry to hear that,” Daphne said.

They all stood there, not quite sure what to do. Then, there was a very audible laughter in the distance. 

“Alright time to go,” Shaggy grabbed the yearbook, and the others weren’t far behind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> that marks the end of part 1!  
> as always, if you'd like to see more on tumblr @atmidnite, thanks for reading!


	5. Game Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's the first game of the football season.

**_Part 2: Adjusting_ **

“Had any prophetic visions lately?” Daphne asked after they finished the lecture on the Roaring 20’s.

“Any what?” Shaggy asked.

“Sadly no,” Fred shook his head. 

“Do you normally have visions?” Velma said

“I mean I wouldn’t say  _ normally _ , but I’ve had a couple,” Fred informed.

“I still have no idea what we’re talking about,” Shaggy said.

“I have these dreams, and I can’t stop thinking about them until I do something about them,” Fred said. 

“The last one brought us to the Darrow mansion and led us to find the yearbook,” Daphne added.

“A yearbook we haven’t done anything with, by the way,” Velma added.

“What are we supposed to do with it?” Shaggy

Fred shrugs. “The dream didn’t tell me,”

“I don’t think it’s about the yearbook, but the information in it,” Velma

“Our parents were in the original mystery solvers club, and what about it?” Daphne

“I think I’m onto something about that, actually.” Velma

“Really? Like what?” Daphne

“I think it would be easier for me to show you rather than tell you. You guys could come to my house later and we can talk about it then?” Velma

“Sure,” Daphne

“I’m not doing anything,” Shaggy

“I’ll be there,” Fred

“I honestly couldn't think of a better way to be spending my Friday night,” Daphne

“It’s Friday?” Fred looked shocked.

Daphne nodded.

“I think I have a game tonight,” Fred said after a moment.

“You think you have a game?” Daphne asked.

“I mean the season should be starting soon right?” Fred tried to think.

“You’re asking the wrong person,” Velma said. “I guess you could come after, or we could just do it tomorrow,”

Daphne had an idea, “Actually guys, what if we all went to the game and went to Velma’s house after?”

“Will there be food there?” Shaggy asked.

Daphne smiled softly, “Yes there will be food,”

“Then you already know my answer,”

“No offence Daphne, but there is a very, very long list of things I would rather do than go to a football game,” Velma sneered.

“Please Velma? It’ll be fun,” 

Velma pulled a face, “That depends on what your definition of fun”

“How about this, you have to stay at least until halftime. If you’re bored by then, we can go to your house and wait for Fred there,” 

“Fine. What time does the game start?”

Daphne smiled. “I don’t know, seven maybe?” 

~

At approximately 7:20, the three of them walked up the stairs to the stadium. The steps wrapped around from behind, concealing how many people were there. Daphne didn’t expect it to be that many. Crystal Cove was fairly small, and lots of high schoolers didn’t even go to football games anymore. When they finally reached the front, Daphne’s jaw dropped. 

The home side of the stadium was almost completely full, with the exception of a few pockets. Almost every type of person was there, parents, students, even young kids. It seemed that all of Crystal Cove was right here in front of her. 

Well that was unexpected.

Daphne was shocked, to say the least. Every time anything would happen, Velma was one of the first ones to react. Every touchdown she was on her feet screaming with the rest of the crowd. For someone that didn’t even want to be here in the first place, she sure was having a good time.

Daphne noticed Fred on the sideline with his helmet off, looking into the crowd. Velma was too busy paying attention to the actual game to see him. 

She nudged her and pointed to Fred, “Look it’s Fred,” Daphne looked next to her for Shaggy, but he was nowhere to be found. He must have been getting food _again_.

Finally Fred found them. He smiled and waved. The girls waved back excitedly. His smile didn’t last long though. One of the coaches came up to Fred and lightly slapped him across the back of the head. 

The girls laughed. “I was kinda wondering if he was allowed to do that,” Daphne said.

“Wait, look, the coach is still talking to him,” Velma said. Daphne looked back down and the coach was still next to Fred, pointing to a clipboard in his hand. Fred nodded and put on his helmet, moving closer to the sideline. 

“I think-” Daphne leans in to get a closer look. Fred’s red number 8 jogged across the field. “Velma he’s going in!” 

“No way,” Velma exclaimed.

“Go Fred!” They cheered in unison.

Shaggy finally came back, with cheese fries and a burger. “What did Fred do?”

“Well nothing yet, but he’s finally going in,” Daphne said.

He said something, but the fries in his mouth muffled the response. 

The three of them stared at the field in anticipation. Fred was on the far side of the field. Everyone started moving, and the quarterback turned his body in the direction of Fred. Fred slowed down and turned around, just in time for him to catch the ball. There was no one in front of him, only an open field full of promise

The crowd cheered. They were sure something great was about to happen. Even Velma could see it play out in her head; he’d make a legendary run, dodge every defender, jump over some of them, and finally he’d score a touchdown. They’d be so proud.

Only that didn’t happen. Fred just kinda stood there for a moment, starstruck.. When he finally decided to run, it was too late. He was tackled in an instant. The crowd let out an ‘ah’ in response. 

By the next play, he was back where he started, on the sideline. No one from the gang said anything. 

Velma was the first to speak up, “Well at least he tried,” 

~

The gang were sprawled all across Velma’s room, waiting for Fred to get there so they could officially start. Shaggy laid on the floor next to Scooby, staring somewhat aimlessly at the ceiling. 

“Your room is really pretty Velma,” Daphne said from the desk chair she was sitting in. 

Even though Velma hadn’t been in the room long, she took it upon herself to make the room as her as possible. At least the aesthetic parts of her anyway. She covered the room in earthy tones, with splashes of green and the occasional plant here and there. 

“Thanks,” Velma said. She shuffled around the room, gathering her research, Daphne supposed.

Fred burst into the room without knocking.

“Oh look, it’s the football star,” Velma noted. 

Fred smiled, “In my defense, we have run that exact play a million times in practice and he has never thrown it to me,”

“Still, at that point your instincts or something should kick in,” Daphne added.

Fred dropped his bag on the floor and settled near the door. He huffed. “In case you couldn’t tell, I don't have many instincts when it comes to football,”

Shaggy propped himself up on his elbow, “At least you caught the ball,”

“At least I caught the ball,” Fred repeated softly into his lap. “Velma, you said you had something to show us?”

Velma took a deep breath, as if she had said it the exact moment she’d finished gathering everything. “Yes I do. Gather ‘round children,”

They all got up from their respective places and took their places around her laptop.

“All right so after we got the yearbook, I was really curious about this whole mystery solvers club thing, so I started looking through old newspaper archives to see if there was anything about them or the key. This is was the first thing I found,”

The article on her screen had a picture of the girls and some text.

“Long story short it says that they were actually pretty good. They took home the gold in the mystery state solvers club finals for three years in a row,”

“Dang,” Shaggy exclaimed from behind her.

“I know. Later it goes on to say that they’ve decided to turn their mystery solving skills on the famous Clairvoyant Key,”

“So did they find it?” Fred asked.

“That’s what you would think, but I don’t think so. 6 months after this article, right before their graduation, Pearl was interviewed. When asked about the key, she said they’d given up on finding it,”

“Weird,” Daphne said.

“Very weird. She even said that it was ‘too big’ of a mystery for them,” Velma did air quotes, “Which makes absolutely no sense. Think about it, you basically train your whole life for something, and then when the opportunity finally comes around to do what you do best, you give up,”

“To be fair, it was the end of high school. They’d already been mystery solving for years, maybe they wanted to see what else life had to offer,” Daphne proposed.

“True, but the year this happened, 1993, there was another article that said that new residents in Crystal Cove were at an all time high solely because of the hunt for the key,”

“Why did people care so much?” Fred asked.

“Well, just months before, the Planispheric Disk was found by archaeologists not too far from Crystal Cove. People had been searching for it for years, and when it was found I guess people just moved on to the next best thing. If you ask me, it seems like someone found out what they were doing and scared them away from looking after it,”

They all sat there for a moment, letting the information wash over them.

“So what does all of this mean for us?” Fred asked. 

Velma turned around in her desk chair. “It’s not much, but at least we have somewhere to start,”


	6. Shipwreck

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A new lead takes the gang to somewhere unexpected.

Velma really needed to visit museums more often. For as many books as she liked to read, it would be expected that she often explored art in many different mediums. Wrong. Velma couldn’t remember the last time she’d been in a museum, or enjoyed it this much. Every piece had such a distinct style and story to tell. It wasn’t exactly what a teenager’s typical Saturday looked like, but she was enjoying herself.

She found herself particularly captivated by the paintings. It was clear to see the amount of detail that had been put into each of them. She strolled around, stopping at one that caught her eye.

It was a still life of a key resting on what looked to be a music box at an impossible angle. They were painted in tones of milky white with silver embellishments and deep shades of purple for accent. 

The key was at the forefront of the painting, and captured her attention in a way the box couldn’t. It seemed within reach, almost jumping off the canvas. She analyzed the items again. They must have been made by the same person, or group of people. The way they matched made them look like a pair. How interesting.

Velma looked down to the name of the painting and almost screamed. Clairvoyance by Sergio Del Rio. She texted, called, did anything she could to contact the gang, all while trying to organize the thoughts in her head.

Soon after, ¾ of the gang were in the museum, waiting for Fred. Daphne and Shaggy sat on a bench watching Velma pace. Her face was scrunched up in deep thought. 

“Um Velma, is there a reason you called us here?” Daphne asked.

Velma paused and looked at her and Shaggy, “Yes, but Fred’s not here yet,”

“Okay,” Daphne said, slightly confused.

Fred came jogging in moments later. He doubled over next to the bench, panting. Daphne turned toward him and instantly regretted it. A smell that could only be described as football gunk attacked her nostrils. She turned away from him and discretely tried to cover her nose.

“Fred you stink,” Velma said, nose already covered.

So much for subtlety, Daphne thought.

He stood up, “Sorry, I just came from football practice,”

Shaggy laughed, “Did you run all the way here?”

“Yes actually,”

They all gave him looks varying from pure disgust to confusion.

“Fred’s questionable decisions aside, I brought you all here for a very important reason. See this painting here?” She gestured to the painting, “More specifically, that is-” 

“Is that the key thing we’re supposed to be looking for?” Shaggy asked.

Velma deadpanned. “Shaggy it would be nice if you didn’t interrupt, but yes it is,”

Fred’s eyes widened, “Really?”

“So what is all that other stuff?” Daphne gestured to them.

“I think they’re other lost treasures from the ship. It seems like they wanted to document their most prized possessions before setting sail,”

“Awe, do you think they’re out there somewhere?” 

Velma shrugged, “I mean I guess they could be,”

“We should try to find them,” The rest of the gang looked at her, “I mean, like only after we find the key, it would be nice to bring them as much as we can,” She clarified.

“Good thing that only leaves us with the same problem we’ve had for weeks,” Velma concluded.

The group heaved a communal sigh.

They decided to move the party to Velma’s house. Velma offered him to use her shower, which luckily for all of them he accepted. Soon enough they were all in her room in a similar formation to yesterday.

“Velma what are you looking at?” Shaggy asked from the floor.

“I’m trying to find more information on Sergio Del Rio, stuff about his family maybe? I don’t really know,”

“Daphne what are you looking at?” Shaggy asked next.

“I’m just checking if there’s anything in the Crystal Cove archives about the key,” 

“Fred?” Shaggy turned his attention to him.

“I’m here for moral support. What are you doing Shaggy?” 

“I’m also here for moral support,”

“Wow I really respect that. Thank you for your service,”

“Anytime,” Shaggy smiled.

Daphne laughed softly at their antics. She hadn’t found anything they’d didn’t already know yet.

“So, do you guys like Crystal Cove?” Fred asked.

“Yeah it’s nice,” Shaggy decided.

Daphne paused. She hadn’t really stopped to form a real impression of Crystal Cove since being sucked into school and looking for the key. She couldn’t quite say she liked it, but she was  _ adjusting _ .

“Daphne?” Fred turned his attention to her. 

Daphne turned around and shrugged, “It could be worse,”

Fred furrowed his brows, “What do you mean by that?”

“It’s okay, but I’m from the city so that’s what I’m used to. It’s just different, I guess,” This was the first time that Daphne had really looked at Fred. Like in the midst of a conversation and not just her usual weird staring. He had a nice face. He even looked directly into her eyes when they spoke. It was weird, but in a good way.

He nodded, “I’m sure it’ll get better,” 

“I think so too,” She smiled.

“Yes!” Velma screamed. The other three jumped.

“Not funny Velma, I almost peed my pants,” Shaggy held his hand over his heart, gasping for air.

“Sorry, but I found it,”

“Found what?” Fred asked.

“The Del Rio shipwreck.” 

“Really?” Fred’s eyes widened.

Daphne turned back around and looked at the computer screen. Fred and Shaggy peered over Velma’s shoulder at her computer screen.

“Well gang, I know what we’re gonna do today,” Velma smiled.

“Awe Phineas and Ferb,” Daphne said.

“What?” The other three said in unison. 

Daphne rolled her eyes.

~

“You know, looking back, maybe learning to skateboard wouldn’t be so bad. Honestly even smoking weed would be better than this,” Shaggy thought out loud.

“Stop being dramatic,” Velma quipped.

“I am not being dramatic. Do you see where we are?”

He did have a point. Here they were on the opposite side of Crystal Cove, going into a cave much, much bigger than themselves. It was dark and didn’t smell too great. Their flashlights were the only thing that kept them from being in complete darkness. Daphne walked a little closer to Fred, just in case.

“Are you even sure that it’s-” Shaggy’s words caught in his throat. 

The cave opened into a large room. The walls were domed and met at a hole in the ceiling. The hole perfectly cast a light on the abandoned ship below it.

“Were you saying something Shaggy?” Velma raised her eyebrows.

“Nope,” He gulped.

They all agreed that Velma and Shaggy would search the outside area and Fred and Daphne would go aboard. 

Daphne found it odd that even though they could me moments away from finding the key, all she could think about was Fred. She wondered what his life had been like before they moved here, what his favorite food was, how he even managed to make the football team. She wanted to ask him a million questions. 

As they scoured the ship, she snuck glances at him every now and then. He was built very nicely. His shoulders were broad, and he was decently muscular. The more she thought about it, his body kind of reminded her of Johnny Bravo. She chuckled lightly to herself. 

“What?” He looked at her.

She stopped like a deer caught in headlights, “Nothing,” 

“Oh,” He paused, “Have you found anything?”

“Nope, have you?”

He shook his head. 

The rest of their search went pretty much like that. None of them found anything. 

“Well that was disappointing,” Shaggy shut his car door.

“Yeah, to be fair it’s been there for at least two hundred years. We aren’t the first people to live in Crystal Cove, and apparently weren’t the first ones to find the shipwreck either,” Velma shrugged.

“Did the Del Rio’s found Crystal Cove?” Daphne asked.

“Maybe, why?”

“If they were the first ones here then maybe they hid the key somewhere. It could be at one of the landmarks around town,” 

“Good point,” 

It was already getting late, so they decided to just go home and look another day. Daphne was disappointed that they didn’t find the key, but part of her knew it wouldn’t be that easy. 

Her stomach felt weirdly empty. She could have sworn that she ate before she left home. Oh well.


	7. Pearl

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fred finds what he's been looking for.

Fred had barely been awake for 15 minutes when his dad came bursting into the kitchen. “Oh, Fred. Good thing you’re up. I prepared a whole day’s worth of film for you after what happened at the game,”

It took everything in Fred not to roll his eyes. He would rather relive that night ten times over and make the same mistake every single time before watching a second of film. Still, he nodded and finished making his cereal. 

“I don’t have to go to work for a few minutes, so I’ll actually be able to watch some with you,” His dad said on the way to the theater room.

“Lovely,” 

After some period of time, Mayor Jones got up for work. “Alright Fred, I’m heading out,” 

Fred almost didn’t notice, he was about 30 minutes into watching Monster House in his head.

He blinked a couple of times, “Oh okay, bye,”

He sat up and looked at the screen in front of him. Some random football game played on the screen. Fred actually paid attention to it for a few minutes as the blue team scored another touchdown.

Fred figured that enough time had passed for his dad to be gone. He left the theatre and looked out the window in the living room. The driveway was empty. Something had been on his mind all morning, and he finally had the house to himself. 

Of course he thought about his mom from time to time; on her birthday, mother’s day,  _ his  _ birthday. The thoughts always stayed just that. He never asked his dad about her, he’d figured it would be too touchy of a subject for him to get into, even all these years later. What he could do though, was try and find out some things on his own.

Fred couldn’t even remember the last time he was in his dad’s room. The layout was much like he remembered. He wasn’t here to admire the interior design. He started going through the drawers, trying to be quick without disturbing anything too much. He searched for anything pertaining to her.

He finally found something worth while in a big box in the back of his father’s closet. It was labeled in big black letters PEARL. He gently opened it. It contained lots of things; jewelry, a wallet, random notes, and countless other things. Seeing her life constricted to this one box made his chest tighten. 

Towards the bottom of the box, he found a plain notebook. He opened it and the pages were filled with her handwriting. It must’ve been her diary. Jackpot.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> halfway mark! wow who would've thought.


	8. Hex Girls

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Hex Girls come to town.

The small two story bar was packed. Everything from the pit,the middle section, and the entire second story were full. People bustled all around with the excitement that the concert was about to start. Daphne and Fred had apparently got there too late, as they were restricted to squeezing up against the wall. Both of them leaned against it, trying to get comfortable. They settled with their shoulders almost touching.

Fred ducked his head down towards Daphne, “Where’s Velma?” 

Daphne got up on her tippy toes and tried to look toward the front for Velma. “I can’t see her but she’s somewhere up there. Her and Shaggy got here a couple of hours ago so they could get good seats,” 

Fred nodded. Daphne noted the mix of pop punk and rock music playing. She didn’t recognize most of them, but everyone else in the venue sang along. Once a song she did know, one by Paramore, came on she sang along with the rest of the crowd. Right as the chorus was about to start, the song cut off. The plain white lights were exchanged with red ones and the crowd erupted into cheers. The show was starting.

About an hour into the set, Daphne began to feel uncomfortable. Somewhere between the small venue, all the people, and the closed space, Daphne was getting hot. She even took off her jacket, but it wasn’t enough. She started to feel light headed, faint stars joining her vision.

She tapped Fred on the shoulder, “I’m gonna go get some fresh air,”

“Okay, I’ll come with you,” 

Daphne let Fred lead the way.

As soon as the two got outside, Daphne instantly felt better. The cool summer night welcomed her kindly. She sighed and looked to the sky. There were no stars out. Two tall light poles lit up the areas on either side of them. Daphne sat down on the curb, and Fred did the same. 

Daphne looked at him, his eyes on the cars that sped by on the other end of the parking lot. Now seemed like the perfect time to start up a conversation, but she couldn’t think of anything to say. He started to turn his head towards her. Before their eyes met she became very captivated with the building on her right.

She smiled. She was acting weird and she knew it, but she couldn’t really help it. She could feel his gaze on her face, so she turned to look at him again. His face shot up to the light above them. Daphne couldn’t help herself anymore and she laughed at them and their stupid little game. He laughed too and looked down, their eyes finally meeting.

Daphne felt like she had never looked at anyone ever in her life. She knew she had, but the way he looked at her now, smiling mere breaths away from her, she felt something she’d never known. 

She looked away, at the parking lot in front of them, at the cars that drove by, at anything but him.

“So,” he started, “Lovely weather we’re having,”

She looked up at the sky, nodding. She opened her mouth to speak, but before she could even respond, it began pouring down rain. Daphne yelped at the sudden impact. They both stood and rushed back into the venue, the security guards letting them in after seeing what transpired.

The people around them gave them weird glances. They both sent back awkward nods. 

Daphne went up on her tippy toes to Fred’s ears, “You’d make a great weatherman,”

He moved away from her so he could look at her and smile, “I think so too,”

She turned away from him, ignoring the way her heart was beating weirdly. Outside, the rain continued to pour. Gentle booms of thunder gradually grew louder and louder until they shook the building. Daphne tried to ignore it and enjoy the concert. 

Halfway through the next song, everything went dark. Some people booed, others gasped. The only light in the room came from the few people who were recording with their flash on. Soon everyone in the room had their flashlights on, pointed towards the stage. Daphne looked at Fred and shrugged before taking out her own phone. 

Everyone was murmuring to themselves, not quite sure what to do. Then, somewhere in the crowd, someone started singing the song the girls were in the middle of. Everyone else joined in, and it was like nothing had even changed. The band members sat at the edge of the stage and carried on the rest of the concert. Daphne smiled. The sight warmed her heart.

~

Frantic knocking and doorbell ringing woke Daphne up with a start. She slid on her slippers and started jogging downstairs to get the door. “Coming,” She shouted. Her mom must be out, considering she could’ve got the door. 

She opened the door, shocked to see an unexpected visitor. 

“Velma?” Velma didn’t even respond, she just moved past Daphne into the house.

“Yes you can come in,” Daphne doubted that Velma even heard her, she was already halfway up the stairs. 

Daphne tried to keep up with Velma as she made her way to her room. Daphne had never seen Velma move this fast. “Is there any particular reason that you’re barging into my house like a mad man?”

Daphne saw Velma go straight for her closet and decided to stop following her. She took a seat on her bed. 

Velma started to shout from inside Daphne’s walk in closet, “The Hex Girls are playing another concert tonight to make up for last night,”

“That’s nice of them,”

“Very nice, amazing, even, but very stressful at the same time,” Velma started pulling clothes from the closet with no real rhyme or reason. “I have to find the perfect outfit. Most people don’t even get to see their idols once, but here I am seeing them twice,” She paused and poked her head out from the closet, “I hope you understand how important this is to me.”

Daphne smiled, “I understand,”

Velma disappeared again, “How do you even find anything in here?”

“Do you need help?” 

“Yes,”

“Step aside child,”

The two switched places, and Daphne emerged in less than two minutes. She had a big black band tee, a jean skirt, and belt to match. 

Velma smiled, “Dang, you’re good,”

“What can I say?” Daphne shrugged.

Daphne walked over and handed the clothes to Velma. 

“Daphne you should come early with me tonight. The wait is really worth it, they’re amazing up close,” 

Daphne looked at the clock, knowing that they’d have to get in line in a few hours. She considered it for a moment, before remembering just what day it was.

Daphne sighed, “I can’t. I have a...” She rolled her eyes and continued in a quieter voice. “I have a date tonight,”

Velma raised her eyebrows and gave her a look.

“Don’t make that face, my mom set it up. I don’t even /know/ the guy,”

“How romantic,”

“I know right. It’s kinda weird but I want to give him the benefit of the doubt. What if he’s a nice guy?” 

“You’re too optimistic,”

Daphne smiled, “I know,”

~

The date was pleasant. He was nice, handsome, and respectful. No matter how stupid the name Lad Ladderton may sound, Lad was a good guy. He opened the door for her, always let her speak, and just overall had his manners about him. Despite all of this, she didn’t want to go on another date with him. 

She waved at him one last time and watched him drive away. She stood there for a moment taking in the night. The full moon shone down on her brightly. She hoped that Velma was having the time of her life, even more so than last night. 

Speaking of the concert, did Fred know that they were having another one? There was no real way of knowing, and she didn’t even think of telling him since she was so busy preparing for the date.

As if she’d summoned him, his white convertible came driving by. The top was down, and even at the speed he was going, Daphne could tell it was him. Apparently he knew it was her too. He made a u-turn and pulled into the parking lot. Daphne couldn’t help but smile as the car rolled up to her.

“Hey Daphne! What are you doing here?” He asked, sounding overly excited for 9pm.

She averted his gaze, hesitant for some reason to tell him that she was on a date. “Nothing, just thought I’d grab a bite to eat. I actually just finished,” 

“Need a ride?” 

“Yeah”

“Get in,” He motioned toward the car with his head.

Daphne paused for a moment. Before she could stop herself, she hopped over the side of the convertible into the seat. She thanked herself for not wearing a dress or a skirt.

“Do you have something against my car doors?” He put the car in drive.

She shrugged, “No, it’s just not every day that you get into a car with no top, so you have to take advantage of your opportunities,”

He chuckled, “I guess you do,”

They drove down a long road on the outskirts of Crystal Cove, where you could see the hills, the water, and glimpses of light in the town. All with the moon and stars shining down on them, it felt oddly romantic. 

A soft tune carried through the radio. Daphne recognized it as Imogen Heap’s Goodnight and Go. She smiled and turned it up. Fred stole a quick glance at her.

“What? It’s a good song,”

Fred didn’t say anything, but he did turn and look at her. At that moment, something clicked. There, with the night sky perfectly highlighting his features. Everything made sense. She now knew why her heart beat the way it did and why her mind filled with him. It. The thing that made Fred so well… Fredlike is the same thing that made Lad, and by extension everyone else, not that. The indescribable it. It gave Fred the favor of every room he walked into. It made him able to charm even the hearts of the cold blooded. Whatever it was, it was made specifically for Fred.

“What?” He broke the silence.

Daphne shook at the realization that she’d been staring, “What?”

“You were looking at me. Did you have something to say?”

She looked at her lap, “Um no, there was just something on your face,”

“Oh really? Is it gone?” 

Heat began to rise up her ears, “Um yeah, the wind blew it off,”

“Oh, I’m glad,”

Daphne wouldn’t dare look, but she swore she could hear the smile in his voice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> fun fact, this was the first chapter i ever wrote for this fic about 4 months ago (back then it was very different and much much worse, be lucky you're seeing this version). also listen to goodnight and go by imogen heap (or ariana grande), it's amazing. this is also the end of part 2!


	9. 3:15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> At a particularly low point for the gang, Fred finally explores something that's been on his mind.

After what felt like ten times of driving around Crystal Cove and stopping at anything that could be considered a monument, they gave up. They’d been to City Hall, the local museum, they even tried the bank. Nothing.

Fred treated them to food from Dairy King and they sat and ate in silence. 

Daphne groaned, “Guys,” 

“I know,” Velma groaned back, setting her head on the table.

“Everything’s fine guys, we have-” He checked the calendar on his phone and then made a face, “A week and a half left,” 

Velma picked her head up to make a face, her eyes wide and mouth agape. She sighed and set her head back down. Even Shaggy stared off into the distance.

“Listen to me, we are going to find this key okay. No matter what it takes, even if we go insane,” Fred put his hand down on the table.

“As if we haven’t already,” Daphne remarked.

“Even if we’ve  _ already  _ gone insane. Okay?”

They all nodded out of obligation.

Fred was nice, Daphne thought. He didn’t deserve to be with someone that would make his life complicated. She wouldn't forgive herself if she corrupted him. He belonged with some girl he’d known practically his whole life and knew exactly what to expect from. Some simple nice girl that would compliment him perfectly. For the sake of both of them, she’d put her feelings on the backburner, doing everything to make them go away.

“Daphne?” His voice took her out of her thoughts.

“Huh?” 

“Are you sure you’re not gonna get anything before we go?” 

She was hungry, but now wasn’t the time.

“No I’m fine,”

“Are you positive?” He raised an eyebrow.

“Yes,” She smiled. 

He really was too nice for his own good.

~

Fred rolled over for the nth time that night. He traced the items in his room with his eyes, finishing with the bedside table right next to him. The clock read 3:15. Considering he’d been trying to sleep for at least 3 hours now, he figured he wouldn’t be getting any sleep soon.

He sat up and turned his light on with a sigh. Now was as good a time as any to read his mom’s diary. He once again put aside the moral discrepancies and opened it.

For hours he lay there, absorbed into his mother’s life. She wrote about lots of things, her life, her marriage, her wishes for the future. It was fascinating to see her life through her own lens. One paragraph really stuck with him.

_ Every day, Fred gets bigger and bigger. I can’t believe how fast he’s grown. Yesterday he crawled all around the house. My sweet boy. Having him has taught me so much about life and love. He is my greatest blessing. _

Fred read the paragraph over and over again, trying to ignore the tears that welled up. He shut the book and held it close to his chest. He desperately hoped his mom was out there somewhere.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> part three!! not to toot my own horn but things start getting spicy so stay tuned. this is also the last of the shorter chapters so the rest will be decently lengthy.


	10. Different

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Daphne spends some time with family.

Daphne couldn’t remember the last time she’d been to this house. It’s towering height and gothic design didn’t feel familiar in the slightest. She could see where her mother’s tendency to buy houses that were far too big came from. As they went through the house, Daphne could see exactly where her mother’s extravagant taste came from.

Every part of the house captivated her. It’s beauty could be admired for years, and that’d probably only scratch the surface of the intense detail.

The first room on the second floor they went to was the study. It could’ve doubled as a mini museum with the way it was filled with trinkets from the family’s extensive travels. Her grandma stood in front of the fireplace, explaining the story behind the painting that hung above the mantel. 

Daphne looked down to the mantel and the items that adorned it. On the end of it, shining even in the dim lights of the room, was a music box. A music box she instantly recognized. She looked between her grandma and the box. How did she of all people have it?

~

Fred, Shaggy, and Velma walked around the mall for the better part of the day. Fred woke up in the mood to get some new clothes, so here they were. Sadly, though, he couldn’t really find anything he liked. 

If Daphne were here she’d probably be able to find something, he thought. His whole face broke into a smile. Daphne was good at this kinda thing. He’d have to come back with her one day. 

Thinking of her made him both happy and sad. The thought of her was nice, but she wasn’t here now. Things were. . .different without her. And not in a good way. He sighed. Luckily she’d be back soon.

~

Pigs, pigs, pigs. All Daphne could see were pigs. The room reeked of manure and the mammals were squealing at an ear shattering volume. The smell alone was enough to put her off. She hoped that the night wouldn’t come to this, but it did. There was no way that she could feed right now, especially not from these pigs.

She looked around, desperate for an escape. Her mom had already begun feeding with the rest. She silently slipped away for a “bathroom break”. 

Back inside, the house was quiet. She strolled through the empty dining room, taking note of the large paintings. Eventually her wanderings took her to a particular room on the second floor.

She wasn’t going to take it, she told herself, she was just looking. She hardly even noticed that the door was already slightly opened. 

Inside she found her grandmother standing before the fireplace, staring right into its gentle blaze.

“Grandma?” The surprise was evident in her voice.

“Daphne? What are you doing in here?”

Daphne continued into the room, “Um nothing, I was just on my way to the bathroom and got a little distracted,”

Her grandmother nodded. 

“Why aren’t you downstairs with the others?” Daphne asked her before she had the chance to ask her the same question.

She sighed, “I stopped live feeding years ago,”

“Really? Why?” Daphne asked with her eyebrows softly raised and eyes wide.

“I never really cared for it. Even in my younger days I avoided it as much as I could,”

“I’m the same way,” She looked from her grandmother into the fire, “It just makes me feel so . . . weird.”

“Already?” She laughed, “At your age I’m surprised, but I guess it can happen to anyone. Let me tell you one thing, live feeding can be avoided most of the time, but if you feel preserved blood isn’t enough, you have to feed,”

Daphne ignored the fact that her body had been telling her the exact same thing for weeks. It was fine. She nodded.

Both of them stood there for a moment, neither saying anything. Daphne suddenly remembered why she’d come here in the first place.

“Grandma what is this?” She gestured to the small item on the edge of the shelf.

“Oh that? It’s a music box, you can pick it up if you want,”

She didn’t have to tell her twice. Daphne gingerly picked up the box. It was cool against her fingers. When she placed it in her palm, it looked exactly as it did in the painting, like not even a day had passed.

“It’s gorgeous,” Daphne said in awe.

“Your grandfather got it not long after we moved to Crystal Cove, snooping around in stuff he shouldn’t have been,” 

Daphne nodded and continued to look at it. Tiny diamonds adorned the entire surface. It had to be worth thousands of dollars.

“Can I borrow this?” Daphne asked straight up, knowing that she had no intentions of returning it.

“Borrow it? Goodness you can have it,” 

Daphne’s eyes widened again, “Really?’

“As long as you don’t pawn it,” Her grandmother winked.

“I promise I won’t,” She smiled.


	11. Regret

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Daphne gets home from visiting her family and makes a big mistake.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> content warning: there's brief mentions of blood in the third paragraph. please don't read if that makes you uncomfortable.

Daphne breathed a sigh of relief as soon as she walked into her room. She set her bag on her bed, the box safely inside of it. She had just let go of the bag when a violent pain went ripping through her abdomen. She doubled over, stars beginning to cloud her vision. Everything faded.

She woke up on a bench somewhere she didn’t recognize. She sat up. On her right were shops, and on her left seemed to be a shore that she’d never seen before, laden with a few large rocks. She looked down at her hands and everything hit her at once.

The all too familiar taste of blood in her mouth, the gross satisfaction of being full, and an overwhelming sense of guilt. She felt sick to her stomach. She couldn’t throw up now though, or she’d end up in a worse place than she started. Surely the waves would soothe her.

She found a place on a rock that was surprisingly dry. She tucked her knees up to her chest and turned her eyes to the sky. The moon was almost full. Under its light, alone with the waves, she began to cry.

The force of everything came crashing through her whole body. Her shoulders shook with relief that she’d found the box, but the snot running from her nose reminded her that they still hadn’t found the key. The cool breeze made her feel every ounce of loneliness she’d ever experienced. And, finally she cried every tear because she’d turned into the animal she feared being every day.

Her sobs died down eventually, leaving her gasping for air. 

“Daphne?” She heard quite possibly the last voice she’d want to right now.

“Hi Fred,” She said, not turning to look at him.

He sat next to her, “Aren’t you cold? Actually hold on,” 

She turned and watched him get up and go back to his car.  _ Thank heavens _ .She didn’t expect that it would be that easy to get him away, but she was glad it was.

Sadly, he didn’t get in the car and drive away. He leaned over the top and grabbed something. What exactly, Daphne didn’t know. She turned around before she could get a good look.

Seconds later, a jacket was draped over her shoulders. He settled again next to her. As badly as she wanted to shrug the jacket off and scream in his face and tell him every reason that he should stay far, far away from her, she didn’t. She just sat there.

“Thanks,” She didn’t want to be rude.

“No problem. What are you doing out here anyway?” She could tell that he was looking at her. She nestled deeper into her left elbow and shrugged. He hummed in response. 

If Daphne tried hard enough, she could pretend that she was by herself. She’d only have to exclude her now quickened heartbeat and a relief that she’d never admit. 

For a moment, the sound of the waves replaced any words they could’ve said. 

Until, “I’m a vampire,”

She actually turned to see his reaction. He furrowed his brows, “Really?” 

She nodded.

“Is that why you’ve been avoiding me?” 

She couldn’t hide the sudden shock on her face. Honestly, she didn’t really expect him to notice. She could make things easy and say yes, but she also didn’t want to lie to him. 

“Not really, I’ve just been. . .” She trailed off, “Busy.”

“Oh,” Why did he sound so sad?

“But all that stuff’s over now,” She didn’t even know what she was saying.

“Oh, good,” Good? Why was that good? He was so exhausting.

Daphne watched the waves crash onto the shore gently.

“This is like that one part in The Little Mermaid,” 

“The part where Ariel tells Eric she’s a vampire?” He asked.

She slapped him on the leg, laughing.

“No, the part where she comes up out of the water on the rock with the moon or whatever behind her,”

“Oh yeah,” He paused, “I’m glad I finally get one of your references, honestly I have no clue what you’re talking about half of the time,”

Daphne rolled her eyes, “That’s because you’re uncultured,”

“All of the stuff you bring up is weird and I’ve never even heard of it,” 

“Because you’re uncultured,” She mumbled under her breath.

“What?” 

“Nothing. You know what just take me home, I can’t even stand to be in your presence anymore,”

“You can’t ask me to do something for you after insulting me,”

“I just did,” She shrugged.

The car slowed to a stop when they got to her house. 

She looked at him, “Thanks, Fred,” She couldn’t really think of anything else to say, so she thought she’d leave it at that. She opened the door and had one foot out of it when he grabbed her hand.

She turned around, careful not to look at their hands, fearful he’d realize just what he was doing.

“Daphne, if you ever need me for anything, just let me know, okay?” 

Daphne had gotten used to the way her mind filled with Fred anytime she was around him. But now it was hard to focus on anything other than the way his hand delicately captured hers. She couldn’t believe herself. Here he was trying just trying to be a good friend and all she could think about was the fact that he was holding her hand. 

She smiled, “Thanks Fred, seriously. It means a lot,”

“Goodnight Daphne,” He was still holding her hand. Would he ever let go? 

“Goodnight Fred,” It would be weird if she didn’t let go, considering she was the one getting out of the car. She reveled in the last moment before pulling her hand away as she exited the car. 

Daphne had already gotten upstairs when she remembered that she still had Fred’s jacket. She looked at herself in the mirror, teartracks staining her cheeks and red lining her eyes. She was almost embarrassed that Fred saw her like this, but she didn’t have anything to hide from him anymore. No matter what she looked like, nothing could really match her biggest secret.

She looked down at the jacket. Seeing it made her want to cry all over again. Fred was so kind, he’d practically told her that he would help her anytime she needed it, and he had noticed that she’d been ignoring him. Hopefully he knew that it really wasn’t his fault. She couldn’t bear to ignore him for another day. Still, she didn’t want to drag her mess into his life. 

Her mom would know what to do.

She found her mom on the couch scrolling on her phone. Daphne took the phone out of her hands and put it onto the empty seat next to her. Daphne sat on her lap, with her head on her chest.

“Well hello there,” Her mom laughed.

“Mom I don’t know what to do,” 

“About what?” 

“Fred,”

“Oh did he find out that you like him?” 

Daphne pulled away and made a face, “No?” 

“Oh,”

Daphne settled back in and sighed, “It’s just- Did you ever feel like you were gonna ruin dad’s life?”

“What? No, why would I have felt like that?”

“Well you know with being a vampire and everything,”

Her mom still wasn’t tracking, “No, do you feel that way?”

“Yes, Fred’s life seems so nice. His dad is the mayor, he’s cute, and he’s  _ decent  _ at football. His life is practically made. I don’t want to mess it up with my vampire-ness,”

“Oh Daphne, you are not going to mess anything up. Did he treat you any differently after he found out you were a vampire?”

“No,”

“Then there you go. As long as he loves you for who you are, he’ll accept all your flaws, and if he doesn’t then he’ll leave. It’s as simple as that,”

“Yeah,” The more Daphne thought it over, the more sense it made. “Yeah that makes sense,”

“You’ll be fine honey,”

Daphne sat up and nodded. “Also how did you know I liked Fred?”

“It wasn’t exactly a secret, I am your mother after all,”

~

Just like every morning, Fred left his house at 7:00 to pick up the gang and take them all to school. When he arrived at Daphne’s house, he couldn’t help but notice how different she looked. Not actually different, but just brighter. Whatever it was, he liked it.

“Good morning,” She said as she got in.

“Good morning,” He repeated back. 

She couldn’t help but think of last night. How she’d sat in this passenger seat countless times, but now it felt closer, more exposed somehow. She gripped her bag where it sat in her lap tightly. Any diffidence she had was drowned out by the physical manifestation of excitement she had in her bag. With the fresh morning light shining down on her, her hopes for today were high.

Velma and Shaggy filed into the car as they always did, with grumbled good mornings and mentions of food and weekend studies. The closer they got to school, the more Daphne’s foot bounced. 

After what seemed like ages, the car pulled into its space. Seatbelts clicked off and all of them were gathering their things to get out when Daphne turned around. 

“Guys, I have something to show you,” 

They all looked at her, still somewhat groggy. 

As she reached for it, she tried to think of something clever to say, but that was asking too much of her brain on a Monday morning at 8 am.

“Ta-da,” The music box sat perfectly in the palm of her hand.

“Is that like, what I think it is?” Shaggy asked almost immediately.

Velma blinked twice, and even rubbed her eyes under her glasses. “Are you serious?”

Daphne nodded, a smile of pride on her face.

Shaggy stuck out a single finger, “Can I touch it?”

Daphne shrugged, “I don’t see why not,”

He gingerly took it in his hands. He turned it, looking at it from all angles. Every single diamond on its surface caught the light perfectly. It was gorgeous, to say the least.

“Where did you get it?” Velma asked, entranced by it.

“My grandma had it at her house. She said my grandpa got it years ago in when they first moved to Crystal Cove,”

“Are you sure it’s real?” Velma always had to be the one to ask the important questions.

“Honestly I can’t be sure, but it looks exactly like the one in the painting. It even has the same initials on the top,” 

Velma looked at the initials, and sure enough, they were the same.She continued to inspect it, taking it from Shaggy to look for herself.

“You didn’t tell me about this last night,” Fred said so only she could hear.

“There was a lot on my mind last night, plus I wanted to save the surprise,”

“There was? Why didn’t you tell me?” 

Daphne didn’t know whether to be flattered or offended that he hadn’t noticed the very obvious fact that she’d been crying. She shrugged. Before she could think of a response, Velma interrupted.

“Now if only we had the-” Velma was cut off by the sound of the warning bell.

Time seemed to escape them. None of them had considered the fact that school would be starting soon. 

In a matter of seconds, Daphne safely put the box back in her bag, all of them grabbed as many of their things as they could and fled the car. Even then, running for their lives to get to class, Daphne wouldn’t have changed a thing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> if you listen closely, you can hear me crying in the distance because fred held daphne's hand. also this is the end of part 3!!


	12. A Favor

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Daphne asks Fred for a favor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> content warning: there are mentions of blood in this chapter. please don't read if that makes you uncomfortable.

For the first time in a week, Daphne didn’t rush to pack up her things and actually ended up walking to class with Fred. 

“So what was wrong last night?” His subtlety was so admirable.

“It’s not exactly something I want to get into in the middle of the school hallway,” She remarked, very aware of just how many people were around.

“That’s fair. Will you tell me eventually?”

“I’ll tell you any time that isn’t right now,”

“So Thursday at Dairy King?”

“What time?”

“6,”

“Alright,” 

Daphne tried to ignore the hunger that pulled at her stomach. It wasn’t violent, moreso insistent, but still there. She tried not to think about it as she flipped through the pages of her magazine, but her mind began to race, particularly remembering having this exact feeling last week, which she also ignored. If she didn’t want the same thing to happen again, she’d actually have to do something this time.

Well, her mind began, Fred did say that if you ever needed- no. No no and no again. There were hundreds of thousands of reasons she should not call Fred. Even though she wasn’t really keen on the whole ignoring him thing anymore, this would be too weird.

She still thought it was weird as she stood in the middle of her bedroom waiting for Fred to pick up.

“Daphne?” At the sound of his voice, part of her regretted it, but it was too far to turn back now.

“Uh, can you come over? I kinda need a favor,”

“Sure,” She could hear him shuffling, probably getting out of bed.

“Thanks, uh i’ll see you when you get here,”

“See you,”

With each impending footstep she could hear, Daphne’s heart began to beat harder and harder. He knocked on the door 3 times. 

“Daphne?” 

“Yeah I’m here,” 

He came into the room fully, wearing a black hoodie she’d never seen him in before. It looked good.  _ He _ looked good. As they stood there looking at each other, Daphne became acutely aware that she was still in her pajamas.  _ How embarrassing _ . 

“Um, so what exactly is this favor?” Fred cleared his throat.

Daphne wanted to crawl into a hole. Seriously considering this idea was one thing, but having to say it to his face was almost too much for her to bear.

“I was wondering if I could, um, suck your blood,”

“Sure,” He shrugged. Well that was easier than she’d expected.

“Okay, you can sit at my vanity over there,” 

Daphne led the way. She tried to take deep breaths, count to ten, anything to compose herself. This could not be happening. 

He sat down at the vanity, the moon illuminating the right side of his face. He made a point not to look at her, which she was very thankful for. She moved directly in front of him and took a deep breath. She looked at his neck and instantly thought against it. She couldn’t trust herself there when she was this hungry, and the last thing she’d want to do was hurt him. Her eyes drifted to his shoulder. She almost sighed again at her terrible terrible luck.

“Can you, um, take off your shirt?” Her voice got small. 

While she couldn’t really see it, she was sure he was blushing by the way he ducked his head to the side. He didn’t say a word before taking off his hoodie. Daphne looked up at the ceiling for a moment. After another deep breath, she looked back down, and the gravity of the situation hit her. She wanted to run far far away from whatever dream she was living in and return to a world where she’d never seen a shirtless Fred or been in such a dire need for blood that she had to resort to this. She didn’t need to remind herself of why she needed to do this, since all she could think about was how hungry she was (that and the normal Fred thoughts she gets, now amplified by the fact that he’s in his present state). 

Their eyes met and Daphne could’ve melted. He looked directly at her the way he always did, but now it was matched with this comforting look she’d never seen before. Her heart skipped a beat.

She looked away from his eyes to where he was seated. There was just enough room for her to put her hands on each side of it to steady herself. She leaned in, and pretended for a split second that she was leaning in to kiss him before continuing down to his collarbone area. This was both the best and worst moment of her life. 

She sank her teeth into the area right above his collarbone and heard a soft gasp escape him. She didn’t know if it was her heart talking, but Fred’s blood was the best she’d ever tasted in her life. It wasn’t too metallic like most people’s. It was smooth as it slid down her throat. So much so that it distracted her from the fact that she’d have to stop soon if she wanted to keep him from fainting. She drank it for a second longer before pulling away.

She found the courage to look down at him. His eyes were closed. It took him a moment to open them. He blinked a couple times and looked directly into Daphne’s eyes, seeming somewhat dazed. The look made Daphne’s whole body buzz. With what she didn’t exactly know, but she welcomed the feeling.

“How are you feeling?” She cut into the heavy silence.

“Fine, a little dizzy,” He said, sounding a little breathless.

“Yeah you should probably eat. I’ll make you something,”

Daphne didn’t know exactly when she learned to make chicken alfredo, or why she remembered the recipe so vividly, but here she was, minutes away from it being done. Neither of them said anything. Fred was content just watching from the island.

Daphne was almost too focused on the alfredo to hear the clicking of the door. She looked at Fred, his eyes wide.

“Should I hide?” 

She shrugged, “Nah,”

Bianca entered the room seconds later, coming to an abrupt stop upon seeing them. Daphne followed her mom’s eyes to a shirtless Fred at the island. Daphne wondered how she’d failed to notice that Fred didn’t put his hoodie back on before they came down here.

He looked between the two of them and covered his nipples with his hands. Daphne barely held back her laughter.

He nodded his head, “Hi Mrs.Blake,”

“Hi Fred,” she turned her attention from him to Daphne, “I’ll leave you two to whatever it is you were doing. Goodnight,”

It wasn’t until she was back in her room that either of them said anything.

“I’m gonna go put on my shirt now,” His cheeks were littered with pink.

“Yeah good idea,”

When he got back downstairs, his alfredo was waiting. 

“You didn’t make any for yourself?” He couldn’t help but ask, taking his place at the island directly across from her.

“I shouldn’t really eat on a full stomach,” She nursed a glass of water instead.

“Oh right,” He took a few bites of pasta before continuing, “I thought vampires were supposed to drink from your neck,”

“Well you can, but it can be dangerous. Since there’s so much blood in the area, you have to be really careful about how long you drink for. Other areas, like the collarbones for example, have enough blood that it won’t take you forever and you have more leeway for how long you can drink for,”

“Interesting,”

“Yeah I guess,”

A few minutes later, he was asking more questions.

“So are we gonna have to do this all the time now?” He said it as if it was nothing. The thought of doing this again made Daphne shiver.

“No, it’s just every once in a while if you aren’t careful, stored blood won’t cut it and you’ll need to feed from a living person. But yeah no,”

He ate the last bite of his alfredo, “Dang I was kinda looking forward to making this a thing,”

She rolled her eyes, “Whatever,”

He got up and put the plate in the sink, now officially in her space, “Seriously though, I didn’t mind. If you ever need any, uh,” he paused “favors again, just let me know okay?” The look in his eyes made it clear he meant every word he’d said. 

She didn’t even think she’d be able to muster up even a 4 letter word right now. She just nodded instead, staring into his eyes with what had to be a dopey look.

He smiled before turning and saying, “Goodnight Daphne,”

A soft smile appeared on her face, “Goodnight Fred,”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> welcome to the fourth and final part!!  
> fun fact: this used to be my favorite chapter (for obvious reasons) until a later chapter became my favorite. also the first version of this chapter was written between the hours of 3 and 5 am because i couldn't sleep. everyone say thank you restlessness.


	13. Not Yet

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Daphne and Fred get food.

For some odd reason, Fred decided to wait outside for her.He stood there with his hands in his pockets, kicking imaginary rocks like he’d never been more bored in his whole life.   
“Hey,” Daphne started, laughing a little.  
“Hey Daphne,” He looked up, and his smile rivaled the shine of the sun. Any semblance of boredom from before faded away.  
“Why didn’t you wait inside?”   
He shrugged, “I don’t know, plus I only just got here,”  
They went inside and stopped in front of the counter.  
“What are you getting?” Daphne looked over at him.  
“I don’t know, what are you getting?”   
“I wasn’t really planning on having anything,”   
He frowned, “Really?”   
“Would it make you feel better if I got something?” She laughed a little.  
He looked up at the menu, “I don’t want you to be hungry or anything,”  
They both paused. When their eyes met they both started laughing.   
“You know what, nevermind,”  
“No it’s fine, i'll get a milkshake,”  
“Do you actually want it or are you just doing it out of pity?”   
She looked at him, “Do I have to answer?”  
His jaw dropped.  
“I’m kidding, I am in desperate need of a milkshake,”   
He smiled and they stepped up to the counter. The girl at the register looked a little young to be working there, but Daphne ignored it.  
“You guys are a really cute couple,” Her braces caught the light as she spoke.  
Daphne couldn’t help but smile, “Oh we’re not a couple,”   
“Not yet at least,” Fred added.  
Daphne’s jaw dropped. All she could do was look up at him in shock. He looked down at her and laughed.  
He looked back to the cashier and started ordering.  
If she didn’t like him so much, Daphne would hate him.

“Alright give me the goods,”   
“What am I supposed to be telling you again?”  
“Umm,” he paused, clearly in thought, “Oh! Why you were sad that one night at the beach,”  
“Oh yeah. So ever since I was little, I hated drinking blood, or at least live feeding. I avoided it as much as possible. The day before the beach I was at my grandparent’s house and they had a live feed that I didn’t participate in, even though I had been feeling really hungry. I thought that I would be fine, but I wasn’t and I ended up blacking out and attacking someone,”  
“Wow, that’s rough, I’m sorry”  
She shrugged, “It’s okay,”  
“You didn’t seem that disgusted a couple days ago though,”  
She couldn’t exactly tell him why she didn’t seem disgusted, but part of her also knew it was deeper than that.   
“Yeah. Well that was different because I know you.”   
He nodded.  
“Also it felt. . .different. Like I was being proactive instead of just acting on instinct,”   
“So you don’t like drinking from people you don’t know?”   
“Yeah. It just feels weird and invasive,”   
“Have you always been like that?”  
“I would like to say yes, but it definitely started after a specific point,”  
“When?”  
She took a deep breath, “The same way that you hit puberty at like 13 14 ish, vampires hit puberty around that age and start drinking blood. Unlike normal puberty, it’s very sudden and kind of just happens one day. When I was 13 and we were at this family gathering and I attacked my cousin out of nowhere. After I realized what I was doing, I stopped and when I turned around my dad had this look of absolute horror on his face. So yeah, kinda hard to like drinking blood after that,”   
“I’m sorry,”  
“It’s okay, it happens to every vampire at some point,”   
“Yeah but it still sucks. I know you said you probably wouldn't need it soon, but if you ever need to drink someone’s blood you know who to call,”  
“That’s really nice of you Fred, thanks,” He looked down, blushing.  
Outside, the sun had just begun to set, sprawling yellows and pinks across the sky. Daphne was suddenly reminded of something she’d been wondering for days now.  
“I have a question for you,”  
“Yes?”  
“Why did you let me drink your blood?”  
“I don’t know, I guess I figured you wouldn’t do anything to hurt me, so I just went along with it,”  
She drank a bit of her milkshake to try and hide her smile.   
“I’m not gonna turn into a vampire am I?”  
She laughed. “No. You have to be born a vampire or go through this super complicated ritual to become one,”   
“Oh okay. Maybe I should have thought about that before I let you drink my blood,”  
“Yeah maybe,”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> behold, the second to last chapter. vampire puberty, am i right?


	14. Homecoming

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everything comes down to this one night for the gang, which also happens to be homecoming.

All week Daphne had pondered over what to get Fred for his birthday. For as much time as they’d spent together, she didn’t really know what kind of stuff he liked. Until Sunday had given her the perfect idea.

She figured she’d get to his house early, before the homecoming hysteria kicked in or she had to start getting ready. 

She looked at the gift in all its glory as she went to set it in his backseat. A framed Little Mermaid poster with a happy birthday note attached. 

“What’s that?” A voice came from behind her.

She jumped slightly and turned around to see Fred looking over her shoulder. 

“It’s your birthday present,”

“Really?” His eyes lit up and he reached to grab it. He inspected it for a moment before smiling. There was that smile again.

“Well?”

He looked up from the poster to her, and her heart almost stopped. 

“I love it, thanks,” They stood there for a minute before Daphne realized she was staring.

“No problem,”

Seemingly out of nowhere, he ducked his head to the side, a familiar blush littering his cheeks. “So um, I was wondering if you were busy tonight? There’s like this thing-”  
“Is it by chance homecoming?”

“Yeah, how’d you know?”

She shrugged, “Lucky guess,”

“Anyway, would you want to be my date?”

Daphne paused. She couldn’t drop her jaw, scream, or cry or do anything of the sort, so she just paused instead.

“Yes. I mean I’ll have to check my schedule since it’s such short notice, but yes,”

“Cool,” He nodded.

Daphne checked herself out one last time before leaving. Her mom practically begged her to straighten her hair, but she said no and she was better for it. With her curly hair pulled back and a gorgeous champagne dress, she felt ready to walk down a red carpet.

She heard a knock on the door and began to make her way downstairs. Her mother got to it first. Daphne couldn’t see who was behind the door, but her mom seemed to be pleasantly surprised by whoever it was. Moments later, Fred stepped inside, still talking to her mom.

Even from up here he looked stunning. The suit fit him in all the right places and his hair was done to perfection. If she didn’t know any better, she would say that his tie was some sort of beige. Her steps quickened.

She got to the bottom of the stairs in record time. 

“You look amazing,” He said it almost immediately.

“You too,” She smiled. She looked down at his tie, and sure enough, it matched her dress. Her heart swelled.

“How’d you know about the. . .” She gestured to his tie.

He smiled bashfully, “Velma told me,” 

God bless Velma.

“I hate to interrupt, but can I get a picture before you go?” Daphne was suddenly reminded that her mom was there. She was already holding her fancy Canon camera. 

“Sure,” 

They looked between each other quickly. He wrapped his hand around her waist and she leaned into him. Her mom took the picture and looked at it on the screen, “Beautiful,”

With his hand still on her waist, he asked, “Are you ready to go?” 

She looked up at him, “Yeah,” 

She couldn’t have meant it more. 

Velma had barely gotten in the car when the gang started directing comments her way.

“Velms you look like you’re going to a funeral,” Shaggy spoke up first.

Her jaw dropped, “Rude. This is my party dress,”

Daphne looked down at Velma’s dress. It was a classic short black dress. Nothing more, nothing less. 

“Do those parties include funerals?” Shaggy asked, eyeing her dress.

Daphne couldn’t help but chuckle. 

“At least I’m being a little subtle,” Velma eyed him and his bright green suit just as harshly. 

He crossed his arms, “Touche,” 

“For the record, I think both of you look great,” Daphne cut in.

“Thanks,” They said in unison, cutting each other glares and smiling.

Fred pulled off and they were officially on their way. 

“Too bad we couldn’t find the key,” Velma said.

“Oh yeah, I almost forgot,” Daphne looked over to Fred.

He shrugged.

“We could go looking for it again,” Shaggy proposed.

“But we’ve already been everywhere,” Velma pointed out.

“Actually there is one last place I want to check” Fred mused.

The school was in sight, merely a couple blocks away, but Fred took a sharp u-turn in the opposite direction. 

“Where are we going?” Daphne asked, concerned.

“Back to your house so to get the music box, I think I know where the key is,”

The three of them sat outside of Crystal Cove waiting from Fred to come back. There wasn’t much out here, just the welcome sign and the road leading back to the highway. Daphne looked down at the fated object in her lap. It was so breathtaking in this light. Just being in its presence made her feel comforted. 

“Has it really been under our noses this whole time?” Velma asked.

Shaggy shrugged, “I dunno,” 

Daphne looked at Fred on her right. He was kneeling on the ground digging in front of some city dedication plaque she’d never even noticed before. This seemed like the last place to check, but somewhere deep within herself she trusted Fred. For as aloof as he may be at times, he seemed like he knew what he was doing with this one.

“You never know,” Daphne added. 

As if on cue, Fred came running out of the towards them. He rounded the front of the car and skipped the door altogether. 

“So?” Velma asked.

Fred pulled the key out of his pocket with a sly smile. The rest of the gang’s jaws dropped in unison.

“Oh my. . .” Daphne couldn’t even find the words to finish. She reached out almost instinctively, taking the key in her hands. It was cool to the touch, just like the box. It had a sleek silver stem, two swirl pieces that wrapped around the center, and diamonds in the middle that spelled out the same initials on the music box: SG. Needless to say, it was breathtaking.

They passed it between them, all ogling it individually. Fred started the car, very aware that their time was running out. 

“How’d you know it was there?” Velma asked, both astonished and perplexed.

“Well a couple of weeks ago I found my mom’s diary and started reading through it. She mostly talked about her day to day life, but every now and then she would mention the key. She said that the people who made the key were obsessed with the concept of home. In seventh grade we took this super lame field trip around Crystal Cove and one of the things we saw was that dedication. At the end of the one in Spanish, it says  _ hogar dulce hogar _ , which means home sweet home. I just kinda put two and two together,”

“Wow,” Was all that Velma could say.

“That is some serious brain power there dude,” Shaggy said. Fred smiled at him through the rear view mirror. 

“And now we’re going-” Velma was cut off by the fact that they were there. Back at the beach that started it all, under the watchful eye of a crescent moon.

Daphne quickly realized that her heels would only serve to get her killed on the slick rocks. She paused on a rock that was somewhat stable and took her shoes into her hands before continuing. 

“You know you wouldn’t have to do that if you were wearing flats,” Velma said, not far behind her. 

“Whatever,” Daphne called back with a smile.

They all made it to the small cave in one piece. Fred and Daphne stood side by side. Being here again reminded Daphne of a much different time in her life. One where she hadn’t yet met her best friends. A time where she wished that nothing would ever change, for better or worse. A very different time indeed. 

“Are you ready?” His expression was masked from the backlighting.

“Yeah,” She spared one last glance at the box. 

“Excuse me?” Fred raised his voice, the sound bouncing around the cave. A cool chill came upon all of them. “We have what you asked for,”

“You’re back,” The voice was close and far at the same time, everywhere and nowhere. “Place it on the ground in front of you,”

It almost hurt Daphne to put such beautiful creations on the ground, but she and Fred did as instructed. The two items sank into the sand before their very eyes. 

“Thank you. You have done what your ancestors couldn’t. Because of you, our souls will be able to pass on, and yours will be returned. Be blessed,” The voice disappeared once and for all, turning the air back to its original state.

They looked between each other, not really sure what to do now. 

Shaggy’s face dropped. He looked like he’d seen a ghost. 

“What is it Shaggy?” Velma sounded as concerned as they all felt.

He raised a single finger, pointing to the back of the cave.

Emerging from it was a frail figure. Fred put his arm out and pulled Daphne behind him. They all took tiny steps backwards the closer the creature got to them. They backed up almost all the way out of the cave when the figure spoke up.

“Fred? Is that you?” The voice belonged to an adult woman.

The figure came fully into the light and the wind was knocked out of Fred. He would know that face anywhere. Namely from the few pictures of her he’d engraved into his mind. 

“Mom?” His voice was quiet and meek. He stepped forward and hugged her, immediately ducking his head into her neck and sobbing. Pearl began to cry too, stroking his hair and saying things that were intelligible to the rest of the gang.

Daphne felt tears begin to sting her eyes. She sniffled, looking down at her bare feet.

“Ah, my allergies,” Velma said, looking up and wiping at her eyes.

Shaggy cleared his throat, “Goodness, me too,”

Daphne turned to them, “Looks like they’ve gotten to all of us,” 

“Dang pollen,” Velma remarked. 

The three of them stood there while Fred and his mom cried, talked, laughed, and then cried some more. Fred came up to the rest of the gang a while later, still wiping his tears.

“Um,” His voice was hoarse and straggly. He cleared his throat and tried again. “Guys, this is my mom, Pearl,”

They all waved and introduced themselves. 

“She’s forcing us to go back to homecoming and enjoy our night,”

“Back? We never even got there in the first place,” Velma said, and they all laughed upon realizing she was right. 

“Technicalities aside, you kids deserve your fun. Now go get in the car,” Pearl sounded stern, but still had a smile on her face.

Sure enough, she drove them to school and even though there was only about an hour left of the dance, the staff let them in. They got in just in time for the Big Throwback song. They entered the dance floor on the outskirts and screamed and jumped along to the lyrics as if they had been there all night.

In that moment Daphne realized just how bizarre this all was. What they’d planned to be a normal night had turned into a stroke of genius and a touching reunion. Despite it all, they were here, dancing the night away as if they were just like everyone else. 

A few more songs played and the gang continued to dance with the biggest smiles on their faces no matter how dorky their moves were. 

“Alright guys and girls, find that special someone and pull them close. This one’s for the lovers,” The DJ cut in smoothly. 

The four of them looked between each other. Velma and Shaggy decided to make themselves scarce. 

“Would you like to dance?” Fred gave Daphne a knowing smile.

“If I have to,” They both knew that that was her way of saying an overwhelming yes.

He took her right hand in his left and wrapped his other one around her waist. Her spare hand rested on his chest. She tried to avoid eye contact but they both could tell that she was smiling like an idiot. How could she not be? 

She was reminded again of how different things had been merely a month ago. Particularly her first time riding into Crystal Cove, supposedly the most haunted place on earth. Other than spirits that want their things back and residents that drank blood, Crystal Cove wasn’t very haunted in the traditional sense. But here, standing in the middle of the gym, in the midst of this quiet but ever present moment, she thought maybe Crystal Cove was haunted. With love and mysteries and stories of people she’d never know. Haunted by the past and present and the ugly lines where the two blurred.

She looked up at Fred to find him already smiling down at her. Barely even half an hour ago he was sobbing his eyes out, yet here he was, beautiful as ever. He was so annoying.

Daphne couldn’t tell if she was hallucinating or if his face was actually moving closer to hers. Nonetheless she leaned in, almost as if some otherworldly force was pulling them together.

His lips slid over hers gently. For a moment they both paused, the reality of what they were doing setting in. Any hesitation was interrupted by the way their lips fit together perfectly, like a lock and key. His hand pulled her closer, desperate to feel her heartbeat. Her hand reached up to his face, feeling the warmth across it. They gravitated toward each other like they were trying to become one.The last thing she felt before they parted was his breath. Warm and inviting in her lungs as if he was sharing his sunlight with her. 

They broke apart and simply looked at each other. They smiled at one another the way they always did, soft and loving. A warmth bloomed within her chest. It made her feel the same way he did. Seen, known, loved. She placed her head on his chest and his hands intertwined at the base of her waist. She sighed.

She spotted Shaggy in the gym lobby raiding the snack table. She would expect nothing less from him. Velma was in the corner with Marcy. Somehow Velma saw her and sent her a thumbs up, and that was all she needed to know that Velma had seen the whole thing. 

Most of all, she felt lucky. Lucky that she had met the most amazing weird unforgettable people. That she somehow managed to get the most wonderful caring guy to kiss her without even really trying. Lucky that she had even stumbled upon the secret world that was Crystal Cove.

It was bizarre, lucky, and maybe even haunted, but she wouldn’t trade it for the world.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> also this is my favorite chapter (if you couldn't tell)  
> and there it is, the end of part four, and this fic. if you actually read this far i just want to say thank you for caring about my stupid little baby of a story. this story has already gotten so much more attention than i could've ever asked for, so thank you.

**Author's Note:**

> if you'd like to see more of my writing antics, you can follow me on tumblr @atmidnite, thanks for reading!


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